


Where Do We Go From Here?

by whiteroses (Sweetwhiterose)



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Abuse, Drinking, Drugs, F/F, High School, Running Away, Underage Drinking, Working Mom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-29 19:58:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15080606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetwhiterose/pseuds/whiteroses
Summary: Aquaria has been living her whole life in a small town worried about her life. When her deadbeat dad dies she sees a way out. She finds mommy dearest in her case file and runs to her. Her mother gets the chance to get the relationship she was forced out of and helps her start a new life in New York City with her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> New writer here! Don’t entirely know what I’m doing, but I’m gonna try. Hope this goes well.

I’m scared. That’s all there is to it. I’m barely 16 and alone in a new place and I’m scared.

Obviously this wasn’t going to be a smooth transition for me. My dad died, I was out in the foster system, and I ran. Now I’m just trying to find this stupid address so I can hopefully find who I’m looking for. My mom.

~*~

My mother’s name is Sharon. I don’t know much about her, only what my dad told me. According to him, all she does is sit around and ignore her responsibilities, but he was a compulsive liar who drank his life away and beat his kid so I don’t really believe what he had to say.

My dad was not a good person. I’ve known this for a while. I knew when I was three and he would yell at me without a reason. I knew when I was five and he started to hit me when he drank. I knew when I was nine and I found out he sold fake medicine to old people. I knew when I was eleven and the touching started. He has always been bad and scary to me. Yet I would never say anything. While I was scared of him he was my dad, and he was the only bit of family I had around. It’s not like I was able to get help from the mom I didn’t know how to get to. Until now.

When my dad died I stayed with a social worker for two days. For the first day I wouldn’t say a word to Ms. Monsoon, and she never pushed me to. I’m very thankful she didn’t. I was able to discover a lot about her because of it. She is 28, has a home office, and prefers to be left alone when she works out in the garden in the morning. She offered to skip it to make sure I was comfortable in her home. I told her that I would be fine, I slept late anyways.

Which is a lie. I have never slept late a day in my life, even when I had pneumonia. I pretended to that morning though. I woke up at 6 AM and waited. I heard her go out at 8 AM and then I took my opportunity. I noted that she doesn’t check on me before she goes out which will be useful later. I went into her office and looked for any information about where I would be going. I found more than that I found my entire file. In it was a page that shocked me. It was about my mother.

I found information about where she is now and what she’s doing. She is Sharon Needles. The Sharon Needles I’ve been following in fashion magazines and online articles for the last 4 years. This explains why my dad hated me liking her so much. I write down her work address, mostly because there isn’t a home address. I write down her number too. I’ll only use that as a last resort though, I want to do this face to face.

I go out to the garden to see Ms. Monsoon.

“I know you said not to bother you while you’re gardening but I have a couple things I need to ask you.”

“It’s okay Aquaria,” she said with a warm smile, “What do you need?”

“First I was wondering if we could go back to my house for a little bit. I have a few things I forgot to grab in the rush of things.”

“Of course darling. We can go this afternoon. Does that sound good?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“What else did you need?”

“Oh yeah. What am I allowed to have for breakfast?”

“Feel free to what you’d like. It’s all in the kitchen. Bowls, plates, and cups are in the cabinet above the microwave. Silverware is in the drawer below it. Food is in the fridge or the blue pantry. If you want to cook come grab me so I can help you.”

I nod and head inside. I look around and I just end up having cereal and some fruit. God I just want to go already.

~*~

We have grilled cheeses for lunch and then we leave for my house, or my old house I guess now.  
She says that she’s going to leave me to it and wait in the car.

I go inside and head straight to my dad’s room. I go to the drawer I’ve seen him put money in before and there it is. Jackpot! It’s about $200 and I know that while it’s not a lot, it’ll be something.

After that I go to my room and grab my dance duffel and dump everything out of it. Out of that pile I grab my sketchbook and my iPod. I grab my headphones too. I go over to my desk and grab my nice colored pencils to sketch with, and I grab a book I’ve been reading. I walk over to my school backpack and get my savings from it. This is all the cash from birthdays, Christmases, and babysitting that I’ve kept from my dad since I was 12. It totals to $600, which means I have about $800 total. This is good. I shove it into a pouch in my bag with the other money and then I go to the bathroom and grab some basic necessities like deodorant and my toothbrush.

I walk back into my room and I’m hit with all the bad memories of this place. The violence and the ridicule my dad forced on me here. I shake the thoughts out of my head and wipe the tears from my face and go over to my closet. I grab a couple pairs of jeans a pair of sweatpants and some shirts. I grab my sweaters and a hoodie cause it’s cold. I make sure to have a nice skirt and tights ensemble for when I try and see my mom. I toss in all my bras and underwear and fold the clothes I was wearing to return to Ms. Monsoon. I change into an outfit more appropriate for the weather than the clothes Ms. Monsoon lent me. I look around for anything I might need. I retrieve my resume that I’ve been working on because that might be useful and I grab my makeup bag for my own comfort, and some of my jewelry.

I walk back out to Ms. Monsoon’s car and she unlocks it for me and I get in.

“Here are the clothes you lent me.” She thanks me and look over my bag.

“Are you sure that’s all you want to bring? That bag doesn’t seem very big.”

“I’m sure. The bag holds a lot more than it looks.”

Honestly I would love to bring more but I can’t let the bag get too heavy.

~*~

Over the next day I find out a couple of things. My foster family to be is out of town right now so I’ll stay with Ms. Monsoon until they’re back tomorrow. Also, I find my route on the greyhound to New York City is $75 dollars from where I am now. The station is a 35 minute walk and there is a bus leaving at midnight. Ms. Monsoon goes to bed at 9 PM so I’ll easily be able to leave. That doesn’t change that I feel bad about abandoning her through, but I need this to happen.

I leave at 11 PM so I’ll have time to get my ticket. I pass for 18 so they don’t ID me and they just let me move on. I get on the bus and get to New York about 8:30 AM and it takes about 2 more hours to get into the city. Ms. Monsoon will have figure out that I’m gone right now, but she’ll assume I ran locally before anything else. From the questions she asked me she thinks I have no idea who my mom even is, so she won’t figure it out for a little while at least. I grab lunch and buy a map so I can find out where I am in proximity to where I need to be. I find out it will take a little over an an hour to get where I need to be. I tak a little bit longer to finish my food so I’ll be sure to get there after any lunch break she would have.

~*~

5240 64th Avenue. I’m here.

I walk in and see a security gaurd. Shit.

“Excuse me sir could you tell me which floor Sharon Needles is on?” I say.

“She has no names on the list today. Go.” He grunts.

“But I need to see her sir.”

“Tough. When you’re on the list I’ll let you in. Those are the rules.”

“Please,” I look at his name tag. “Officer Royale. I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t desperate. I really need this.”

“Listen kid. I can’t let you through and if you try anyways I have to call the cops. I don’t want to do that to you, but I’ll have to if you don’t leave.” He stands up to prove his point and damn is he tall. I back away tears starting to form. This isn’t going like I thought it would.

“Fine. Will you at least tell her that Aquaria Campbell needs to see her and that she’ll be at the diner up the street at 7 if Ms. Needles is willing to meet?”

He sits back down and looks at me sympathetically. “I’ll call up and let her know within the hour. That’s the best I can do.”

“Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me.” I open the door to leave, and I turn back as he starts to say something.

“Good luck kid. You seem nice.”

I flash him a smile and I walk out onto the street.

~*~

It’s 6:53 and I’m nervous. What if the message didn’t get to her, or she didn’t recognize my name? Worse, what if she did and just doesn’t care? All I have is my duffel bag with my stuff and my money. That’s not going to get me far in New York. I dip my french fry into my milkshake and continue to worry.

If she doesn’t want me then I have no chance. I’ll have to go back to Pennsylvania and be forced into the foster system. And I don’t want that. I’ll be bounced from house to house, and nobody even wants teenagers so I’ll end up in the shitty ones too. I’ll never get to go to college and study fashion. I probably won’t even be able to finish high school. The idea almost makes me wish that I was still living with my dad. A tear goes down my face at that. I’m lucky nobody is near to see me.

A voice pulls me out of my thoughts. “Aquaria?”

And there she is. The one I want to see. I have so much to say, so many questions, but I can’t seem to form the words. I open my mouth and of course I start stuttering. 

“H-h-hello. I’m A-aquaria.” Another year rolls down my cheek and she steps forward. She really doesn’t want anything to do with me. I raise my hand to protect my face and she takes it gently and lowers it and starts to speak.

“I’m not going to hurt you I promise. Why would you ever think that?”

My cheeks turn red and I look down wiping away the tears. “I’m sorry it’s not you. Just the way I was raised I guess.”

At this she looks appalled. “What? Are you okay? Do you need help?”

“Kinda, but that’s not the point. You know my name. Do you remember it, or have you forgotten about that like you forgot to check in on me?”

“I haven’t forgotten Aquaria. I know you are my daughter and I know how the situation seems. I wanted to take you with me but your dad wanted you and he had the court advantage because I was unemployed at the time. By the time I got a job three months later, you two had moved and I didn’t know where you were. I asked the neighbors, but apparently you went without notice late at night. I worked with a couple people to find you and when I came to visit your dad told me you weren’t there and he had some dirt on something I did when I was younger and he threatened to expose it. It would have ruined my whole career and then then I really would have had nothing. So I had to leave you there with hopes of contacting you when you were older.”

“When was this?”

“About five years ago in late June.”

“That was around the first time.”

“The first time what?”

I pushed my fries towards her. “Take some. You’ll need comfort food to get through hearing this story.”

~*~

It took about an hour and a half to tell her everything. The abuse, the neglect, the drinking. I even told her about how my dad died. Sharon cried and apologized for leaving me about a million times. The waitress asked us to get something else or leave. I grabbed my stuff and headed for the door. Sharon takes my hand and asks me to come with her so we can call the social worker and deal with this. I walk out with my hand in hers and we get into a cab to go back to her apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aquaria goes to Sharon’s home and starts to settle in, and Sharon works out custody of her daughter.

Sharon-my mom- I’m not sure how to address her yet, gets out of the cab and I follow behind closely not wanting to fall out of her sight. I look forward and see a huge building and I suddenly get nervous. Sharon obviously has a whole lot going for her, is she really willing to throw a teenage daughter into the mix?

“Aquaria? You here? Let’s head inside now so we can get you settled in.” I look up and see Sharon with a worried look on her face and I just nod and start walking.

Sharon buzzed in and we head through the lobby to the elevator. We get in and I am told to press the button for the top floor. I step forward and press and then we start to talk and she tells me about her wife Alaska. I know of her as she is a CEO of a makeup company I love. We are cut off from our conversation as a lady walks in and her and Sharon start talking. I clutch the strap of my duffel tight and look down. I must have spaced out again because when I look up gain they both are looking at me expectantly.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Sharon looks at me and smiles. “Aquaria, this is Willam, she lives directly below us. She just asked who you were.”

I reach out to shake her hand and she takes it carefully. “I’m Aquaria.” I look to Sharon, not sure what she’s willing to share, “I’m going to be staying with Sharon for a little bit.”

“Cool. You should convince Sharon to bring you down sometime and we can do something fun.” With that the elevator doors open and she steps out. “Bye.”

“By you fancy hobo!” Sharon calls after her. She then turns to me, “ Why did you make it sound like you were just a friend’s kid visiting instead of my daughter?” The elevator stops and we get off and head to the door. Sharon unlocks it and we step inside.

“I wasn’t sure if I’d be here long, not many people will actually take in their 16 year old who they barely know. You said you were going to call my social worker, that could mean that you were calling her to come get me, I’m not exactly prime daughter material. I ran away from my social worker and I sure as hell was never good enough for my dad. There aren’t many good things to be said about—“

“Please don’t continue. I don’t want to hear that kind of negativity about yourself. I do want you. I want you to live here and be a part of my life. Do you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“And did you say you ran away from your social worker? That’s not going to be good for you, we need to call her now.”

“She’s going to be so mad. I feel bad for taking advantage of her kindness.”

“At least you know your actions were wrong. What’s her phone number?” I give her the number I have written down and she dials it. “ Hello this is Sharon Needles and I’m calling in regard of my daughter Aquaria. She is safe with me in New York and I would like her to stay that way with me.”

I hear mumbling on the phone and Sharon looks at me and takes my hand. “Yes I will gladly sign any papers needed, but I want it done quickly and efficiently. And I must know why I wasn’t called immediately?” I can’t make out what Ms. Monsoon says to her but Sharon starts frowning. “That is not a good enough reason. I’m very mad about this but it will not be made into an issue for the sake of my daughter got it?” I hear her agree and then the phone is handed to me.

“Hello?” I say with a shaky voice. I hear Ms. Monsoon’s intake of breath before she speaks.

“Aquaria what were you thinking? I was so worried!”

“I’m sorry. I just needed to meet my mother and see if I could have a real chance at life. The success rates of kids in the foster system aren’t very high.” I feel like I’m going to cry so I look away from Sharon and continue. “I was just so scared of what could happen and I needed to do this for myself.”

“You could have asked. We could have worked something out. What you did is unacceptable and if you were in a home, you would have been taken to court over running away. You are very lucky that I decided to give you a day before calling the police on you. I covered for you with the family you were supposed to be staying with, which could have easily gotten me in trouble. You were reckless and irresponsible and I expected more from you.”

After hearing that the tears start falling. “I really am sorry I promise. I can come back to Pennsylvania and go to the family if that’s what needs to happen. I don’t want to get you in trouble. God, I screwed this up just like everything else.” I have to stop to breathe and then I continue the tears steadily rolling down my face now, “I will do whatever you tell me to, just please try and make it so I can stay here. I’m begging you.” Sharon turns be around and pulls me into a hug, clearly hearing how desperate I am. I start to sob into her and she takes the phone back from me and starts to talk to Ms. Monsoon.

“She can stay correct?” I continue sobbing and I feel her start to rub my back. “Good. I will see you tomorrow Ms. Monsoon.” She hangs up the phone and just holds me for a little bit longer and comforts me. My tears slow and she makes it clear that I’m staying with her. I lean away from her and smile.

“So Ms. Monsoon will be coming tomorrow?”

“Yep. She is going to bring all the papers for me to take custody of you and in about them you are officially mine.”

“I’m so excited!”

“Me too. I know you’ve had a long day so why don’t you go shower and then we can get you settled in. Alaska should be home by then too.” She shows me to the bathroom and shows me where everything is before leaving. I shut the door and look into the mirror for a few minutes before I strip down and let the water soothe my anxiety.

~*~

I walk out of the bathroom and see Sharon and Alaska deep in conversation. I don’t want to interrupt so I stay where I am and wait for a break in the conversation. Before that happens though Alaska looks in my direction and notices me.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

“Don’t worry you’re good.” She walks over to me and gives me a hug. At first I stand there shocked and then I hug back. “Hi. I’m Alaska.”

“Aquaria.”

“I’m so happy to have you here. Sharon has been really sad about not being able to see you, especially after she couldn’t be there when you turned 16. I know that this is going to make her so much happier. Both of you so much happier.”

“I agree.” Alaska sat back down and gestures to the spot between her and Sharon. We talked for a while and I learned a lot about the two of them. Alaska is a very dedicated business woman who also is just a big goof at heart, and while Sharon might be a fashionista now, she was a total goth teen. We ended up ordering a pizza and watching Golden Girls for a while and I drifted off to sleep.

~*~

“Wake up kiddo” Sharon speaks softly, “I brought your stuff to the former guest room, which will be your bedroom. Let’s get you there so you can sleep more comfortably okay?” I nod and let her walk me to the room.

I look around at the room. It has white walls and a bed with light blue sheets. There is a painting of the ocean on the wall. The closet door has a long mirror on it which I immediately love.

I’m drawn out of my thoughts when Sharon speaks, “I know it’s bland but we can go out and shop to start decorating it after we’re done with Ms. Monsoon tomorrow.”

“The room is fine, really. Thanks... umm what would you like me to call you?”

“You can call me Mom, but if you’re not comfortable with that yet Sharon will work just fine.”

“Thanks Mom.”

“Goodnight kiddo.”

“Goodnight.”

She turns and walks out the door. I trade my jeans for sweatpants immediately. I still feel cold so I put on a sweatshirt as well. I climb into bed and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the covers.

~*~

I wake up and it’s still dark out. I groan and look at the clock beside my bed. It reads 7:39. I roll over and try to go back to sleep. It’s not a particularly successful attempt seeing as I wake back up at 7:56. I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth before making my way to the kitchen. I walk in and grab an orange from the counter. Something more filling would have been nice, but I don’t know where anything is yet so this will have to do. I sit down on a stool by the counter to eat it. When I’m done it toss the peel in the trash and start to go back in my room. I run into Alaska in my way back. Literally.

“I’m so sorry Alaska I didn’t think anyone was awake.”

“It’s fine. Did you sleep well?”

“Like the dead.”

Alaska laughs. “That’s exactly how your mother answers that question.”

“Cool.” Alaska starts to walk to the kitchen and I follow her timidly. “Hey Alaska?”

“Yes doll?”

“Can you show me where things are so I can make myself something to eat?”

“I was just about to make pancakes. Do you want some?”

“Yes please. Is there anything I can do to help?

“No but you can stay out here and chat with me while I make them. I’m going to have tea first, because if I make them now your mom won’t be awake to eat them because she will never be awake before 9 if she doesn’t have work.”

“May I have some tea as well please?”

“Of course. Do you like citrus ones or another type, we really do have everything.”

“Whatever you’re having is fine.”

“Raspberry it is.”

~*~

We finished our tea at about 8:30 and then Alaska made pancakes and some coffee for my mom. She got out whip cream and strawberries to go with it and asked me to go wake my mom up.

“Second door on the right, doll.”

“Okay.” I walk in and see my mom sleeping. I go over to her and shake her shoulder gently. She stirs and gives me a look that could set someone on fire.

“Alaska said to come get you. There is pancakes and coffee in the kitchen. We will start eating without you if you take too long.”

Her gaze softens as she realises it’s me and she gives me a thumbs up before trudging out of bed to follow me to the kitchen.

She walks behind Alaska and puts her arms out around her. “Morning baby.”

“Morning.” She turns around and gives my mom a kiss. “There’s pancakes for you.”

“So I’ve been told.”

They take their places near me and we eat quietly with some light conversation between us. We finish and we put our dishes in the sink to be dealt with later.

I head back to my room to get ready for the day. I change into some black jeans and a red off the shoulder crop top. Then I grab my hairbrush and makeup bag and head to the bathroom. I style my hair into a messy bun and pull out a couple pieces to frame my face. I grab my makeup bag and start on my face. I decide not to go too extreme so I just do a golden eye with winged liner and red lips. It’s simple yet elegant and that’s exactly what I was going for.

I go back to my room and grab my sketchbook. I flip to a design that I drew in there. It’s a lavender gown that is to the floor and has a slit up to the mid thigh. The waistline is high and is accentuated with some sheer paneling. It has a halter neckline that really pulls the whole dress together. I add some silver accents around the paneling and the neckline and now it’s perfect. To me at least. There’s a knock on my door and I shit my sketchbook.

“Come in.”

Sharon walks in and sits on my bed. “Ms. Monsoon will be here in a couple hours. We’re having her for lunch to get any paperwork done and make this official. Is there anything in particular you would like for lunch?”

Some sort of pasta would be nice.”

“Okay kiddo. I’ll let Alaska know. She’s the master in the kitchen. I’m ok but nothing near her ability.”

I nod and let out a laugh. Sharon looks over me and notices my sketchbook. She picks it up gently and I look at her, my expression surely filled with anxiety.

“What’s this?”

“Just my sketchbook. It has some drawings of clothes I’ve designed.”

“That is my specialty. Can I take a look?”

I hesitantly agree and she opens up the book. She flips a few pages and lands on the dress I’ve been working on.

“This is incredible!”

“Thank you. I worked hard on it.”

“This is really something. I could see this in my line, I love it.”

“It’s my dream dress. I want to wear it to my prom, but my sewing isn’t at that level yet. So it will just remain a dream.”

“I could help you make it sometime.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I got to go kiddo. I need to get the penthouse I little more cleaned up for when Ms. Monsoon gets here.”

She walks out and I continue to sketch for a little while, and then I get up and practice one of my dance routines. After that I go and help my mom clean and get a tour in the process. The apartment is huge and has so many different rooms with so much stuff in them. That’s why my mom got a penthouse I guess.

I quickly decide that my favorite room in the house is what I dub the fashion room. It has a sewing machine and about a million different fabrics inside. I look around in there after I’m done cleaning until Alaska calls me to help set the table for lunch with Ms. Monsoon.

Not long after we finish, Ms. Monsoon shows up with a knock on the door. My mother lets her in and greets her as I stare down at the floor sadly. I still feel bad for what I did, even if it will have a good outcome. I decide to just live with it and try to have a nice lunch with all of them.

“Hello Ms. Monsoon.”

“Hello Aquaria.” She reaches to pull me into a hug and I accept it, grateful she doesn’t seem to be holding any anger towards me. Alaska asks us all to come to the table to eat and I show Ms. Monsoon to the dining room. We sit down and dish up the pasta and salad Alaska made and start eating. We talk casually for a little bit before getting to the serious stuff.

“So Mrs. Needles, you wish to take custody of your daughter?”

“Alaska and I wish to do so. Do you have all the papers for us to sign?”

“Yes, but we need to go over a few guidelines before I can let you two sign them.” Sharon prompts her to continue.

“First off, she must have a room to sleep in. She can’t be on the couch or anything like that.”

“Already taken care of.”

“She will have to be enrolled in a school near here. It’s a few weeks into the school year so it won’t be the best transition, but it needs to be done.”

“I’m friends with the principle of a very good school about ten minutes from here. I will call about getting enrolled tomorrow.”

“She will need to be put on all insurances. Medical, dental, and the likes.”

“Okay.”

“You need to be able to financially and emotionally care for her, even if she causes problems. Not that I think she would.”

“Of course.”

“Here are all of he papers. You need to sign here, here, and here. You also need to initial here. You need to do the same to the right of everything she is doing Alaska.” Sharon and Alaska sign everything and as soon as it gets into the system later today I’m officially theirs.

“Alright, that’s everything. If you have any questions just call me or the branch near you.”

Alaska is the first to respond. “We will. Thank you Ms. Monsoon.”

“We really appreciate what you’re doing for us and our daughter.” Sharon says straight after.

“It’s my job. I’m glad to do it. Especially when I see kids go into a loving home like this one.”

I step forward and hug her, whispering a quiet thank you into her ear. She steps back and smiles at me, and I think about how great she has been to me in such a short time and a wave of appreciation washes over me. I show her out and then return to the dining room to help my mom and Alaska with the dishes. We finish that and relax for a until about 3 when my mom reminds me that we were going to go shopping for things for my room. We decide that we’re not too tired to go and we grab a couple things before heading downstairs and calling a cab to head out.


End file.
